Days Later
Brooke Lynn, Michael and Lulu were all playing happily on the lawn in front
of the gatehouse. They were celebrating because Brooke was finally over her
cold. Which was a good thing because tomorrow was Thanksgiving and Brooke
loved to eat. Ned and Alexis were inside working on a few L&B Records
contracts. They weren't worried about anything happening to the kids. The
Quartermaine estate had the best security that money could buy and they had
the door open so they could hear if someone got hurt.
No one noticed the man hiding behind the tree waiting for his chance to
grab little Michael Morgan. The kid was never alone, he thought. There was
always someone with him. He'd thought his job would have been easy. A lot
easier than the loser who got stuck with trying to abduct Layla. There was
also that other guy who was supposed to kill Jones but ended up dead. Now
both Layla and Jones had their guards up and were on the look out. He was
lucky. Nobody knew Cassadine was trying to get the kid also. His job should
be a cinch. But he never could get the kid alone! He watched as the happily
little trio began to shout at each other. Apparently there was fight
brewing between them.
"My father always said you Quartermaines were crazy!" Lulu said to Brooke
Lynn.
"I'm not a Quartermaine. My last name is Ashton." Brooke put her hands on
her hips and glared at Lulu.
"Ashton or not, you're still a Quartermaine and you're still stupid." Lulu
stuck out her tongue.
"Yeah, you big stupidhead." Michael was siding with Lulu on this matter.
"Shut up, Michael." Brooke snapped.
"No you shut up, Brookie." Michael quickly retorted.
"No, *you* shut up. You're an idiot." She frowned. Michael was supposed to
be on her side?
"At least I was named after a stupid city." Michael said.
"Well at least *I* have a father." Brooke sneered. "Mine's not dead."
Lulu gasped. People rarely talked about Michael's father, it was just
something they didn't do. Everyone knew that Michael missed his father even
though he barely knew him. Michael's chin began to tremble the way it did
right before he started to cry. Lulu threw her arm around his shoulder and
threw Brooke a dark look. Brooke took a step back. She knew she had crossed
a line.
Carly chose just that moment to arrive. She was there to pick up Michael
and Lulu. She narrowed her eyes as she took in the scene. Michael was
crying, Lulu was glaring at Brooke and Brooke was wringing her hands
together.
"Okay, what happened?" She asked no one in particular.
Lulu was quick to tell. "Brookie was making fun of Michael."
"Uh-uh!" Brooke immediately leapt to her defense.
"Yeah huh!" Lulu countered.
"I was not." Brooke said.
"Was too." Lulu said.
Carly knew that they could go on all day if she let them so she intervened.
"What did she say?"
"She said at least she had a father who wasn't dead." Lulu told her.
Carly struggled to hold onto her temper. "Where's your father Brooke Lynn?"
"Inside." She said quietly. She could tell that she was in trouble.
Carly grabbed Brooke's hand and headed for the house. She tossed over her
shoulder, "Come with us." And Lulu and Michael followed them.
"Damn." The man behind the tree swore. He just watched his chance to grab
the kid go by. He had only a few days to get him according to Cassadine and
he didn't want to fail the man.
"Ned!" Carly shouted as they entered the house.
"We're right here." Ned said. He and Alexis were sitting on the couch. "Is
something wrong?"
"Yes. Your…daughter was taunting Michael." Carly snapped. "About Jason
being dead."
Ned wearily rubbed forehead. "Brooke, why would you do such a thing?
Apologize right now."
"I'm sorry, Dad." She rubbed her foot against the back of her leg and
looked at the ground.
"Not to me." Ned said exasperated.
Brooke rolled her eyes and faced Carly. "I'm sorry."
"Say it to Michael and say it like you mean it." She instructed.
Brooke rolled her eyes and said. "I'm *sorry* Michael. I shouldn't have
talked about your father like that."
Michael pressed into Carly's side. "Can we go home now Mommy?"
Carly nodded and ran her hand through his red hair. "We can. Ned, Alexis,
we'll see you tomorrow."
In the car on the way home Carly glanced at Michael through the rearview
mirror. He was awfully quiet back there. "Michael, you know that Brooke was
wrong. You do have a father even though he is dead. Just because your
father isn't around doesn't mean that he didn't love you. He loved you very
much and even in Heaven he loves you."
"I know, Mommy." He said quietly before staring out the window. Carly
sighed heavily and continued driving. She began to think over her words.
Her mind wandered over to the subject of Stefan and the blood test. Should
she get it done or shouldn't she? Did she really want to know if he was her
father? Carly dwelled on the situation a little longer and by the time she
finished dropping off Lulu and pulled in front of the Brownstone she had
her answer.
~*~
Keesha was hoping to spend a quiet evening at home with Marcus but of
course her plans were ruined. What else did she expect? Her life had been
completely changed in the past few weeks. Keesha had gotten used to seeing
Melinda only twice a day: in the morning when she left and late at night
when Melinda returned from wherever she had spent the day. However that
night Melinda was sticking close to home. She hadn't moved from the couch
since that morning, watching every thing from silly game shows to daytime
soap operas to afternoon talk shows to inept sitcoms. If that hadn't been
enough Marcus' 'friends' Layla and Frisco had shown up also. Melinda had
greeted them warmly and the three of them were ensconced in the kitchen
telling old stories.
Marcus came through the front door tugging off his tie. He hated the damn
things and wished he never had to wear them. "Hey, baby."
"Hey." She called from the couch. She wore a frown on her face.
Marcus noticed it and came and sat next to her. "Something wrong?"
Keesha shook her head and sighed. Why complain to him? He couldn't change
things. "No, there's nothing wrong."
"You sure?" Keesha nodded. He looked around. "Is Melinda still out?"
"No, she's in the kitchen with Layla and Frisco." Keesha jerked her thumb
in that direction.
"What are they doing here?" Marcus asked as he stood up.
"You have to ask them, they didn't tell me a thing." Keesha mumbled under
her breath.
Marcus was just about to go in the kitchen when the trio came out. Layla
grinned at Marcus. "Hey, we thought we'd come over and visit."
"What the hell happened to Blondie?"
Frisco was wearing a sling. "This? Ran into a little problem. Cassadine's
trying to kill me. Luckily I handled the situation. However this is not a
good thing. I was shot on the way to see my kids. This means I can't see
the girls until this is finished. I don't want them in the line of fire."
Layla jumped in. "And so I came up with this great plan. It's obvious that
Cassadine knows we're here. He had Blondie shot and tried to have me
abducted. I was thinking that maybe I *should* let Cassadine abduct me. You
know, let him think he's got me and turn around and bam! Bust his ass. What
do you think?"
"Absolutely not!" Marcus said. "I'm not allowing you to do such a
ridiculous thing."
Layla put her hands on her hips. "Who are you to say whether I can do
something or not? I was just running this past you. What you say makes no
difference."
"Layla, you aren't on the mission anymore." He said slowly to make sure she
understood.
"I know that." Layla said just as slowly.
"Katarina will be here in a few days to get you."
"So? Maybe I can put my plan into motion before she gets here." Layla
mused. Just then the doorbell rang.
Melinda, who had been watching them go back and forth, went to get it. She
threw the door open and said in surprise, "Mum!"
Katarina Ross took out the cigarette she had been puffing on, threw it the
floor, crushed it under her shoe and walked into the apartment. Katarina
was a small Asian woman with medium length black hair and snappy dark eyes.
At first glance she seemed to a very fragile, very sweet woman. That was
until she opened her mouth and you got to know her. Fragile? Ha! She was
the toughest woman Marcus had ever known and extremely stubborn.
"What the hell are you people doing?" was the first thing she said.
Marcus moved into action and greeted his former sister in law. "Rina,
what's up girl."
"Who is that?" She said, pointing at Keesha.
"Excuse me?" Keesha said getting up from the couch. "You come into *my*
home and ask who *I* am? Who the hell are you?"
Damn, this was going to be trouble, Marcus thought. "Keesha, this is
Katarina Ross, Melinda's mother. Rina, this is my fiancée Keesha Ward. She
knows everything."
Katarina raised her eyebrow in silent disapproval. Then she moved on from
them. She pointed at Frisco. "You."
Frisco explained about his wound. "It was one of Cassadine's men. He's been
taken care of."
Katarina nodded. "Her?" She pointed at Layla who smirked at her.
"I didn't know she was coming along until I got here." He said truthfully.
She believed him. She looked at Layla. "Well?"
"What do you want me to say?" Layla shrugged. "I came when I wasn't
supposed to. But I'm not going to let Cassadine slip through my fingers
again."
"And lose your eyesight in the process?" Katarina demanded. "I'm ordering
you to go back and have the operation."
"Look I can catch him *and* still have time for the operation."
"You are in danger of losing that eye."
"Listen to Rina, please. Do you really want to go through life wearing an
eye patch?" Marcus asked.
"This isn't open to discussion. When I go back, your ass will be on the
plane right next to me." Katarina swore. She made it clear that that was
her final decision. She finally turned to Melinda. "And now you…"
"Oh, you remembered I'm alive?" Melinda laughed without humor. "That you
had a daughter?"
"Melinda…" Marcus started to say. Katarina held up her hand. "No let her
speak. What is it?"
"Let's see…" Melinda pretended to tick a list off on her fingers. "You
obviously don't give a damn about me, I come last after just about
everything else in your life, you stick me in a disgusting boarding school
full of bigoted snobs and expect me to have a 'good time' and 'learn a lot'
and 'makes lots of friends'. You only notice me when it's convient to you,
I have to be practically dying to get your attention otherwise, and here's
the kicker, I hate you!"
Melinda ran out the open door. Marcus started to go after her but Katarina
held him back. "Let her go. She's just in a pissy mood. She gets like that.
Just like her father used to be, you remember." She rummaged through her
purse without a care and pulled out her cigarettes. "Anybody got a light?"
"There's no smoking here." Keesha spoke up. She wore a shuttered
expression. Marcus could tell that she was not happy. Not happy at all.
~*~
Maxie walked into Kelly's with a wide smile on her face. She was finally
free! Just that morning her mother told her she was off her punishment.
Maxie had known that if Georgie had complained about her accompanying her
and her friends every where long enough her mother would give in. Now she
was free to roam the city.
Lucky was behind the counter as usual. He greeted Maxie with what he hoped
she saw as a friendly smile. He had to think of a way to keep her from
seeing him as a potential boyfriend. He saw her as a sister and that's all.
Sure she was a great looking girl and all but he couldn't see Maxie as
anything other than a little sister and he hoped it would stay that way.
"Maxie, what are you doing here?"
"Picking up tonight's dinner. My mom called in an order a while ago?" She
said as she slipped onto the stool.
"Right, it's almost done." He told her. "So how are things?"
"They're perfect." She grinned. "I'm off punishment, finally."
"Well good. Now you try to stay off it okay." He lectured her.
"I'll try. I promise." Her eyes sparkled as she nodded fervently.
"How are things with you…and Samantha?" Maxie couldn't resist asking.
"They're uh… I wish I could say fine but they aren't. She left today to go
visit family for Thanksgiving and she won't be coming back since she has to
leave for Spain right after it." Lucky confided in her.
"That's too bad. So I guess things are over between the two of you, huh?"
She asked hopefully. Let it be over, let it be over, let it be over…
Lucky caught himself before he could say it was. No need to give the girl
false hopes. "It's more like wait and see…"
"Oh." She nodded understandingly. Oh yeah, it's over. Time to make my move.
The phone behind the counter began to ring and Lucky went to answer it.
"Kelly's."
Melinda listened to his conversation with half an ear. "Uh-huh…. Really…
Sure! I'm not crazy… Great, thanks!" He hung up and grinned at Maxie.
"You will not believe it!" He said.
"What? What happened?"
"That was my agent and uh, he got me a gig! It's this Saturday. It's at my
dad's club but the great thing is he didn't know it was me when he agreed
to let me play the club. I'm on my way I can feel it!" Lucky said.
"That's fantastic!" Maxie squealed, caught up Lucky's euphoria. She slipped
off the stool and ran around the counter. She gave him a great big and he
returned. She then gave him a smacking kiss on the cheek. She pulled back
somewhat satisfied with herself. "That's great news."
Lucky released her. He was a little embarrassed. "Uh, yeah, thanks. I've
got a lot people to call and I have to start rehearsing and…"
Maxie nodded. "I'm sure you'll be terrific and I'll be in the front row
cheering you on."
~*~
Carly tenderly rubbed the spot where they had drawn the blood. She looked
at the floor while the friendly nurse talked with Stefan.
"Mr. Cassadine, we should have the results for you in a few days."
"Thank you, Nurse Branson." He nodded politely. The nurse left the room
leaving Stefan and Carly alone together.
Stefan hesitantly began to speak to her. "Caroline, I—"
She immediately said. "Please. Call me Carly."
Stefan nodded. "*Carly* I was quite surprised when you called me today and
said you would take the test with me. May I inquire about your sudden
change of heart?"
She shrugged. "I just thought I should know so I can stop worrying about
it."
He allowed himself a small smile. "I feel that this is the first step in—"
"Stop." She held up her hand. "We don't have the results yet so don't try
to act all chummy-chummy okay?"
"All right." He conceded. One step at a time, that was the way he would
take it.
Carly pulled on her coat and headed for the door. She paused at it and said
without turning around. "Nikolas is coming over for dinner tomorrow. Bobbie
and I had invited him before things got the way things are. Bobbie wanted
me to extend the invitation to you. You can come or not. No one should be
alone on Thanksgiving."
"What time should I arrive?" He asked quietly.
"Three would be good. We're hoping to have dinner around four or five." She
said quickly before escaping out the door.
~*~
After she ran out of the apartment Melinda ended up at the docks. She sat
on the bench and stared out at the ships coming in and out of the harbor.
She hated that she let her mother get to her like that. Two seconds in her
presence and she flips out. Melinda buried her face in her hands and
muttered. "That was so stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid!"
Tommy Hardy was jogging along the docks and spotted Melinda. He slowly
grinned. Melinda, all alone and no one else, especially Lucas Jones, in
sight. For the past few days Tommy and Lucas had been trying to outdo each
other and see who could spend the most time with the mysterious Melinda.
Looks like he was in the lead today. He jogged over to her. "Hey."
Melinda looked up. "Tommy."
"I told you. Thomas, please." He said as he dropped down next to her.
"How's it going?"
"I'm not in the mood for chitchat." Melinda said.
"Something the matter?" Thomas asked. Usually Melinda was full of life.
Melinda shrugged. "I'd rather not talk about it."
"Come on." He bumped her shoulder with his. "You can tell me. Please tell
me. I know absolutely nothing about you. I don't know where you live, I
don't any of your interests, and all I know is that you're from London and
your last name's Ross. You know everything about me. I told you how much I
can't stand my mother's boyfriend. I told you how badly I did on my last
history test. I tell you everything and you tell me nothing."
Melinda didn't say anything at first. She was taught to never reveal too
much about herself so she focused on getting him to talk more about
himself. She thought he hadn't noticed at all but it obvious he did.
"Just give me this little something." He said.
Melinda licked her lips. "I just…it's my mother. She makes me crazy. That's
all I'm going to say okay? Because I would rather not talk about it."
Thomas nodded. "I understand. I have my share of mother troubles. You don't
have to say another word. Sometimes I think it's a mother's job to drive
her children batty."
Melinda laughed a little. "Yeah that could be it."
"Hey, you feel like getting something to eat?"
She and Layla were going to order a pizza but Melinda didn't feel like
going back to apartment so soon. "Sure, Tommy, I'm starving."
"What did I say?" Thomas immediately said. 'Tommy' was a kid's name and he
just liked Thomas better. If he had to correct every single person, every
single day, he would.
"I'm sorry, *Thomas*." She said sincerely.
"That's better." He smiled.
"And you know, you can…you can call me Mel, if you want."
~*~
It had been years since Carly last had The Dream but when she did it was
always the same…
Five-year-old Caroline Benson loved her stuffed rabbit, Mr. Hops, more than
anything else in the world. She had him all her life or at least as far
back as she could remember. He went everywhere with her. She slept with
him, told him all her little girl secrets, and hid her face in his soft fur
when she was afraid. Right now she was holding Mr. Hops as close to her
face as possible.
"Ba-bee Cah-o-line." Sang out her father, Frank Benson. He wore a cajoling
smile on his face while his eyes held a sinister look. "Ba-bee Cah-o-line.
Why are you hiding, Baby Caroline?"
Caroline was afraid. She knew she should be used to it by now but she was
still very much afraid. She could smell the alcohol on his breath as he
leaned across her bed and tugged down the sheets. She held onto one with
her tiny little fist
"Leave me alone, Daddy!" She squeaked out. For once she was going to speak
out and tell him to stop. Tonight it was going to stop.
"Shut up, you little brat!" Frank lost his smile. He ripped the sheet away
from her. Caroline tried to scramble away.
"No, Daddy, no! Don't touch me, Daddy! Please!" She screamed out.
Frank grabbed her slim ankle in his larger hand and yanked her back to him.
"I said shut up! Do you want to wake your mother? I told you what will
happen if you wake your mother." He snarled.
The door to Caroline's room opened. Virginia had heard Caroline shouting
and she came to see what was the matter with her little girl. The sight
before her utterly shocked her. "Frank? What's going on? What are you
doing to Caroline?"
"Get out of here, Ginny." Frank tossed over his shoulder.
"Mama? Help me, Mama." Caroline cried out. She knew she was breaking the
rules, never ever tell Mama, but she was scared. She tried to pry away
Frank's hold on her leg.
Virginia charged at Frank, determined to get him away her daughter. She
tugged on his arm trying to drag him away from her. "Stop, Frank. Leave her
alone."
Frank turned around and backslapped her across the face, sending Virginia
crashing to the floor. "I said to get out of here." He said, his voice flat
without any emotion.
Virginia licked at her lip tasting the blood there. She pushed herself up
from the floor and quickly left the room.
Caroline was devastated. How could her mother just leave her to this? Maybe
Daddy was right. Maybe she was wicked and this was her punishment and there
was nothing Mama could do to help her. No, shouted her mind, I am not
wicked and this is not right. She continued to struggle with her father.
"Hold still." He muttered.
Seconds later Virginia came back to the room holding Frank's gun that he
kept in there closet. Just in case was what he always said. Caroline never
knew what he was prepared for. All she knew was that she was not allowed to
play with the gun at all. Frank heard a click as Virginia cocked the gun.
He turned around again and laughed. "What are you going to do, Ginny? Shoot
me? I don't think so."
"Leave my daughter alone." Virginia's voice shook and her hands trembled as
she aimed for his chest.
"For Pete's sake." Frank muttered. He released his hold on Caroline who
jumped off the bed and crouched in the corner. He walked over to his wife
with his hand out. "Give me the gun."
"No." Virginia violently shook her head. "Don't come any closer Frank."
"You won't shoot me." He smirked. He confidently reached out and grabbed
the gun from her hands. He tossed it on the bed. Virginia started to cry at
how easily it was. Frank slapped her again. "Now I told you this has
nothing to do with you. Go back to bed. Now!" He roared.
She was never sure how she got the courage to get up and get the gun but
she did. She held it in her hands and she felt the power. The power to stop
it, the power to end it.
Virginia glanced behind Frank and saw Caroline holding the gun. "Caroline,
no!"
Frank turned his head and started to speak, "Baby Caroline—"
The details were always fuzzy after that:
Bang! Bang! The gun went off. Frank went down. All Caroline saw was the
blood. The blood was everywhere. Everywhere she looked was blood. She could
hear Virginia screaming over and over in the background, "What have you
done, Caroline? What have you done!"
Carly sat straight up in bed with tears streaming down her face. She choked
back a loud sob so she wouldn't wake up Alex. She drew her legs up to her
chest and pressed her face against her knees. "Oh God, why now?"
She tried to wipe away the tears but she couldn't stop them from coming.
Her stomach turned and she slapped her hand over her mouth and rushed out
of bed and headed for the bathroom. She made it to the toilet in time to
lose the contents for her stomach. It happened every time she had The
Dream. She was used to it by now.
Alex was woken by Carly climbing out of bed. He followed her into the
bathroom wondering what was wrong. He saw her draped over the toilet,
holding her head in one hand and her stomach in the other.
"Carly?"
"Go away." She muttered. She flushed the toilet and slowly stood. She moved
over to the sink and quickly brushed her teeth. She gargled and splashed
cold water on her face. She looked at Alex through the mirror. He was
watching her with a worried expression. "Why are you still here, Alex?
Please just go."
"Carly, what's wrong?" Alex frowned and reached out for her but she
instantly backed away.
"No!" She shouted. "Don't touch me! Don't touch me! Do *not* touch me! Just
leave me alone, please just leave me alone." Tears sprung out, fast and
furious. She crumpled onto the floor in a heap and cried harder.
Alex's heart was breaking. He didn't know what was hurting her and it was
killing him because he couldn't help her. He knelt on the floor in front of
her and tried to take her into his arms.
She shook her head and curled into a ball. "Don't touch me." She said in a
little girl voice.
Alex gasped. What the hell was going on? He couldn't touch her; she
wouldn't talk to him…The only thing he could do was watch as she cried
herself to sleep. When he was sure she was sleeping he tenderly picked her
up and carried her back to bed. He would get to the bottom of things in the
morning.
Brooke Lynn, Michael and Lulu were all playing happily on the lawn in front
of the gatehouse. They were celebrating because Brooke was finally over her
cold. Which was a good thing because tomorrow was Thanksgiving and Brooke
loved to eat. Ned and Alexis were inside working on a few L&B Records
contracts. They weren't worried about anything happening to the kids. The
Quartermaine estate had the best security that money could buy and they had
the door open so they could hear if someone got hurt.
No one noticed the man hiding behind the tree waiting for his chance to
grab little Michael Morgan. The kid was never alone, he thought. There was
always someone with him. He'd thought his job would have been easy. A lot
easier than the loser who got stuck with trying to abduct Layla. There was
also that other guy who was supposed to kill Jones but ended up dead. Now
both Layla and Jones had their guards up and were on the look out. He was
lucky. Nobody knew Cassadine was trying to get the kid also. His job should
be a cinch. But he never could get the kid alone! He watched as the happily
little trio began to shout at each other. Apparently there was fight
brewing between them.
"My father always said you Quartermaines were crazy!" Lulu said to Brooke
Lynn.
"I'm not a Quartermaine. My last name is Ashton." Brooke put her hands on
her hips and glared at Lulu.
"Ashton or not, you're still a Quartermaine and you're still stupid." Lulu
stuck out her tongue.
"Yeah, you big stupidhead." Michael was siding with Lulu on this matter.
"Shut up, Michael." Brooke snapped.
"No you shut up, Brookie." Michael quickly retorted.
"No, *you* shut up. You're an idiot." She frowned. Michael was supposed to
be on her side?
"At least I was named after a stupid city." Michael said.
"Well at least *I* have a father." Brooke sneered. "Mine's not dead."
Lulu gasped. People rarely talked about Michael's father, it was just
something they didn't do. Everyone knew that Michael missed his father even
though he barely knew him. Michael's chin began to tremble the way it did
right before he started to cry. Lulu threw her arm around his shoulder and
threw Brooke a dark look. Brooke took a step back. She knew she had crossed
a line.
Carly chose just that moment to arrive. She was there to pick up Michael
and Lulu. She narrowed her eyes as she took in the scene. Michael was
crying, Lulu was glaring at Brooke and Brooke was wringing her hands
together.
"Okay, what happened?" She asked no one in particular.
Lulu was quick to tell. "Brookie was making fun of Michael."
"Uh-uh!" Brooke immediately leapt to her defense.
"Yeah huh!" Lulu countered.
"I was not." Brooke said.
"Was too." Lulu said.
Carly knew that they could go on all day if she let them so she intervened.
"What did she say?"
"She said at least she had a father who wasn't dead." Lulu told her.
Carly struggled to hold onto her temper. "Where's your father Brooke Lynn?"
"Inside." She said quietly. She could tell that she was in trouble.
Carly grabbed Brooke's hand and headed for the house. She tossed over her
shoulder, "Come with us." And Lulu and Michael followed them.
"Damn." The man behind the tree swore. He just watched his chance to grab
the kid go by. He had only a few days to get him according to Cassadine and
he didn't want to fail the man.
"Ned!" Carly shouted as they entered the house.
"We're right here." Ned said. He and Alexis were sitting on the couch. "Is
something wrong?"
"Yes. Your…daughter was taunting Michael." Carly snapped. "About Jason
being dead."
Ned wearily rubbed forehead. "Brooke, why would you do such a thing?
Apologize right now."
"I'm sorry, Dad." She rubbed her foot against the back of her leg and
looked at the ground.
"Not to me." Ned said exasperated.
Brooke rolled her eyes and faced Carly. "I'm sorry."
"Say it to Michael and say it like you mean it." She instructed.
Brooke rolled her eyes and said. "I'm *sorry* Michael. I shouldn't have
talked about your father like that."
Michael pressed into Carly's side. "Can we go home now Mommy?"
Carly nodded and ran her hand through his red hair. "We can. Ned, Alexis,
we'll see you tomorrow."
In the car on the way home Carly glanced at Michael through the rearview
mirror. He was awfully quiet back there. "Michael, you know that Brooke was
wrong. You do have a father even though he is dead. Just because your
father isn't around doesn't mean that he didn't love you. He loved you very
much and even in Heaven he loves you."
"I know, Mommy." He said quietly before staring out the window. Carly
sighed heavily and continued driving. She began to think over her words.
Her mind wandered over to the subject of Stefan and the blood test. Should
she get it done or shouldn't she? Did she really want to know if he was her
father? Carly dwelled on the situation a little longer and by the time she
finished dropping off Lulu and pulled in front of the Brownstone she had
her answer.
~*~
Keesha was hoping to spend a quiet evening at home with Marcus but of
course her plans were ruined. What else did she expect? Her life had been
completely changed in the past few weeks. Keesha had gotten used to seeing
Melinda only twice a day: in the morning when she left and late at night
when Melinda returned from wherever she had spent the day. However that
night Melinda was sticking close to home. She hadn't moved from the couch
since that morning, watching every thing from silly game shows to daytime
soap operas to afternoon talk shows to inept sitcoms. If that hadn't been
enough Marcus' 'friends' Layla and Frisco had shown up also. Melinda had
greeted them warmly and the three of them were ensconced in the kitchen
telling old stories.
Marcus came through the front door tugging off his tie. He hated the damn
things and wished he never had to wear them. "Hey, baby."
"Hey." She called from the couch. She wore a frown on her face.
Marcus noticed it and came and sat next to her. "Something wrong?"
Keesha shook her head and sighed. Why complain to him? He couldn't change
things. "No, there's nothing wrong."
"You sure?" Keesha nodded. He looked around. "Is Melinda still out?"
"No, she's in the kitchen with Layla and Frisco." Keesha jerked her thumb
in that direction.
"What are they doing here?" Marcus asked as he stood up.
"You have to ask them, they didn't tell me a thing." Keesha mumbled under
her breath.
Marcus was just about to go in the kitchen when the trio came out. Layla
grinned at Marcus. "Hey, we thought we'd come over and visit."
"What the hell happened to Blondie?"
Frisco was wearing a sling. "This? Ran into a little problem. Cassadine's
trying to kill me. Luckily I handled the situation. However this is not a
good thing. I was shot on the way to see my kids. This means I can't see
the girls until this is finished. I don't want them in the line of fire."
Layla jumped in. "And so I came up with this great plan. It's obvious that
Cassadine knows we're here. He had Blondie shot and tried to have me
abducted. I was thinking that maybe I *should* let Cassadine abduct me. You
know, let him think he's got me and turn around and bam! Bust his ass. What
do you think?"
"Absolutely not!" Marcus said. "I'm not allowing you to do such a
ridiculous thing."
Layla put her hands on her hips. "Who are you to say whether I can do
something or not? I was just running this past you. What you say makes no
difference."
"Layla, you aren't on the mission anymore." He said slowly to make sure she
understood.
"I know that." Layla said just as slowly.
"Katarina will be here in a few days to get you."
"So? Maybe I can put my plan into motion before she gets here." Layla
mused. Just then the doorbell rang.
Melinda, who had been watching them go back and forth, went to get it. She
threw the door open and said in surprise, "Mum!"
Katarina Ross took out the cigarette she had been puffing on, threw it the
floor, crushed it under her shoe and walked into the apartment. Katarina
was a small Asian woman with medium length black hair and snappy dark eyes.
At first glance she seemed to a very fragile, very sweet woman. That was
until she opened her mouth and you got to know her. Fragile? Ha! She was
the toughest woman Marcus had ever known and extremely stubborn.
"What the hell are you people doing?" was the first thing she said.
Marcus moved into action and greeted his former sister in law. "Rina,
what's up girl."
"Who is that?" She said, pointing at Keesha.
"Excuse me?" Keesha said getting up from the couch. "You come into *my*
home and ask who *I* am? Who the hell are you?"
Damn, this was going to be trouble, Marcus thought. "Keesha, this is
Katarina Ross, Melinda's mother. Rina, this is my fiancée Keesha Ward. She
knows everything."
Katarina raised her eyebrow in silent disapproval. Then she moved on from
them. She pointed at Frisco. "You."
Frisco explained about his wound. "It was one of Cassadine's men. He's been
taken care of."
Katarina nodded. "Her?" She pointed at Layla who smirked at her.
"I didn't know she was coming along until I got here." He said truthfully.
She believed him. She looked at Layla. "Well?"
"What do you want me to say?" Layla shrugged. "I came when I wasn't
supposed to. But I'm not going to let Cassadine slip through my fingers
again."
"And lose your eyesight in the process?" Katarina demanded. "I'm ordering
you to go back and have the operation."
"Look I can catch him *and* still have time for the operation."
"You are in danger of losing that eye."
"Listen to Rina, please. Do you really want to go through life wearing an
eye patch?" Marcus asked.
"This isn't open to discussion. When I go back, your ass will be on the
plane right next to me." Katarina swore. She made it clear that that was
her final decision. She finally turned to Melinda. "And now you…"
"Oh, you remembered I'm alive?" Melinda laughed without humor. "That you
had a daughter?"
"Melinda…" Marcus started to say. Katarina held up her hand. "No let her
speak. What is it?"
"Let's see…" Melinda pretended to tick a list off on her fingers. "You
obviously don't give a damn about me, I come last after just about
everything else in your life, you stick me in a disgusting boarding school
full of bigoted snobs and expect me to have a 'good time' and 'learn a lot'
and 'makes lots of friends'. You only notice me when it's convient to you,
I have to be practically dying to get your attention otherwise, and here's
the kicker, I hate you!"
Melinda ran out the open door. Marcus started to go after her but Katarina
held him back. "Let her go. She's just in a pissy mood. She gets like that.
Just like her father used to be, you remember." She rummaged through her
purse without a care and pulled out her cigarettes. "Anybody got a light?"
"There's no smoking here." Keesha spoke up. She wore a shuttered
expression. Marcus could tell that she was not happy. Not happy at all.
~*~
Maxie walked into Kelly's with a wide smile on her face. She was finally
free! Just that morning her mother told her she was off her punishment.
Maxie had known that if Georgie had complained about her accompanying her
and her friends every where long enough her mother would give in. Now she
was free to roam the city.
Lucky was behind the counter as usual. He greeted Maxie with what he hoped
she saw as a friendly smile. He had to think of a way to keep her from
seeing him as a potential boyfriend. He saw her as a sister and that's all.
Sure she was a great looking girl and all but he couldn't see Maxie as
anything other than a little sister and he hoped it would stay that way.
"Maxie, what are you doing here?"
"Picking up tonight's dinner. My mom called in an order a while ago?" She
said as she slipped onto the stool.
"Right, it's almost done." He told her. "So how are things?"
"They're perfect." She grinned. "I'm off punishment, finally."
"Well good. Now you try to stay off it okay." He lectured her.
"I'll try. I promise." Her eyes sparkled as she nodded fervently.
"How are things with you…and Samantha?" Maxie couldn't resist asking.
"They're uh… I wish I could say fine but they aren't. She left today to go
visit family for Thanksgiving and she won't be coming back since she has to
leave for Spain right after it." Lucky confided in her.
"That's too bad. So I guess things are over between the two of you, huh?"
She asked hopefully. Let it be over, let it be over, let it be over…
Lucky caught himself before he could say it was. No need to give the girl
false hopes. "It's more like wait and see…"
"Oh." She nodded understandingly. Oh yeah, it's over. Time to make my move.
The phone behind the counter began to ring and Lucky went to answer it.
"Kelly's."
Melinda listened to his conversation with half an ear. "Uh-huh…. Really…
Sure! I'm not crazy… Great, thanks!" He hung up and grinned at Maxie.
"You will not believe it!" He said.
"What? What happened?"
"That was my agent and uh, he got me a gig! It's this Saturday. It's at my
dad's club but the great thing is he didn't know it was me when he agreed
to let me play the club. I'm on my way I can feel it!" Lucky said.
"That's fantastic!" Maxie squealed, caught up Lucky's euphoria. She slipped
off the stool and ran around the counter. She gave him a great big and he
returned. She then gave him a smacking kiss on the cheek. She pulled back
somewhat satisfied with herself. "That's great news."
Lucky released her. He was a little embarrassed. "Uh, yeah, thanks. I've
got a lot people to call and I have to start rehearsing and…"
Maxie nodded. "I'm sure you'll be terrific and I'll be in the front row
cheering you on."
~*~
Carly tenderly rubbed the spot where they had drawn the blood. She looked
at the floor while the friendly nurse talked with Stefan.
"Mr. Cassadine, we should have the results for you in a few days."
"Thank you, Nurse Branson." He nodded politely. The nurse left the room
leaving Stefan and Carly alone together.
Stefan hesitantly began to speak to her. "Caroline, I—"
She immediately said. "Please. Call me Carly."
Stefan nodded. "*Carly* I was quite surprised when you called me today and
said you would take the test with me. May I inquire about your sudden
change of heart?"
She shrugged. "I just thought I should know so I can stop worrying about
it."
He allowed himself a small smile. "I feel that this is the first step in—"
"Stop." She held up her hand. "We don't have the results yet so don't try
to act all chummy-chummy okay?"
"All right." He conceded. One step at a time, that was the way he would
take it.
Carly pulled on her coat and headed for the door. She paused at it and said
without turning around. "Nikolas is coming over for dinner tomorrow. Bobbie
and I had invited him before things got the way things are. Bobbie wanted
me to extend the invitation to you. You can come or not. No one should be
alone on Thanksgiving."
"What time should I arrive?" He asked quietly.
"Three would be good. We're hoping to have dinner around four or five." She
said quickly before escaping out the door.
~*~
After she ran out of the apartment Melinda ended up at the docks. She sat
on the bench and stared out at the ships coming in and out of the harbor.
She hated that she let her mother get to her like that. Two seconds in her
presence and she flips out. Melinda buried her face in her hands and
muttered. "That was so stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid!"
Tommy Hardy was jogging along the docks and spotted Melinda. He slowly
grinned. Melinda, all alone and no one else, especially Lucas Jones, in
sight. For the past few days Tommy and Lucas had been trying to outdo each
other and see who could spend the most time with the mysterious Melinda.
Looks like he was in the lead today. He jogged over to her. "Hey."
Melinda looked up. "Tommy."
"I told you. Thomas, please." He said as he dropped down next to her.
"How's it going?"
"I'm not in the mood for chitchat." Melinda said.
"Something the matter?" Thomas asked. Usually Melinda was full of life.
Melinda shrugged. "I'd rather not talk about it."
"Come on." He bumped her shoulder with his. "You can tell me. Please tell
me. I know absolutely nothing about you. I don't know where you live, I
don't any of your interests, and all I know is that you're from London and
your last name's Ross. You know everything about me. I told you how much I
can't stand my mother's boyfriend. I told you how badly I did on my last
history test. I tell you everything and you tell me nothing."
Melinda didn't say anything at first. She was taught to never reveal too
much about herself so she focused on getting him to talk more about
himself. She thought he hadn't noticed at all but it obvious he did.
"Just give me this little something." He said.
Melinda licked her lips. "I just…it's my mother. She makes me crazy. That's
all I'm going to say okay? Because I would rather not talk about it."
Thomas nodded. "I understand. I have my share of mother troubles. You don't
have to say another word. Sometimes I think it's a mother's job to drive
her children batty."
Melinda laughed a little. "Yeah that could be it."
"Hey, you feel like getting something to eat?"
She and Layla were going to order a pizza but Melinda didn't feel like
going back to apartment so soon. "Sure, Tommy, I'm starving."
"What did I say?" Thomas immediately said. 'Tommy' was a kid's name and he
just liked Thomas better. If he had to correct every single person, every
single day, he would.
"I'm sorry, *Thomas*." She said sincerely.
"That's better." He smiled.
"And you know, you can…you can call me Mel, if you want."
~*~
It had been years since Carly last had The Dream but when she did it was
always the same…
Five-year-old Caroline Benson loved her stuffed rabbit, Mr. Hops, more than
anything else in the world. She had him all her life or at least as far
back as she could remember. He went everywhere with her. She slept with
him, told him all her little girl secrets, and hid her face in his soft fur
when she was afraid. Right now she was holding Mr. Hops as close to her
face as possible.
"Ba-bee Cah-o-line." Sang out her father, Frank Benson. He wore a cajoling
smile on his face while his eyes held a sinister look. "Ba-bee Cah-o-line.
Why are you hiding, Baby Caroline?"
Caroline was afraid. She knew she should be used to it by now but she was
still very much afraid. She could smell the alcohol on his breath as he
leaned across her bed and tugged down the sheets. She held onto one with
her tiny little fist
"Leave me alone, Daddy!" She squeaked out. For once she was going to speak
out and tell him to stop. Tonight it was going to stop.
"Shut up, you little brat!" Frank lost his smile. He ripped the sheet away
from her. Caroline tried to scramble away.
"No, Daddy, no! Don't touch me, Daddy! Please!" She screamed out.
Frank grabbed her slim ankle in his larger hand and yanked her back to him.
"I said shut up! Do you want to wake your mother? I told you what will
happen if you wake your mother." He snarled.
The door to Caroline's room opened. Virginia had heard Caroline shouting
and she came to see what was the matter with her little girl. The sight
before her utterly shocked her. "Frank? What's going on? What are you
doing to Caroline?"
"Get out of here, Ginny." Frank tossed over his shoulder.
"Mama? Help me, Mama." Caroline cried out. She knew she was breaking the
rules, never ever tell Mama, but she was scared. She tried to pry away
Frank's hold on her leg.
Virginia charged at Frank, determined to get him away her daughter. She
tugged on his arm trying to drag him away from her. "Stop, Frank. Leave her
alone."
Frank turned around and backslapped her across the face, sending Virginia
crashing to the floor. "I said to get out of here." He said, his voice flat
without any emotion.
Virginia licked at her lip tasting the blood there. She pushed herself up
from the floor and quickly left the room.
Caroline was devastated. How could her mother just leave her to this? Maybe
Daddy was right. Maybe she was wicked and this was her punishment and there
was nothing Mama could do to help her. No, shouted her mind, I am not
wicked and this is not right. She continued to struggle with her father.
"Hold still." He muttered.
Seconds later Virginia came back to the room holding Frank's gun that he
kept in there closet. Just in case was what he always said. Caroline never
knew what he was prepared for. All she knew was that she was not allowed to
play with the gun at all. Frank heard a click as Virginia cocked the gun.
He turned around again and laughed. "What are you going to do, Ginny? Shoot
me? I don't think so."
"Leave my daughter alone." Virginia's voice shook and her hands trembled as
she aimed for his chest.
"For Pete's sake." Frank muttered. He released his hold on Caroline who
jumped off the bed and crouched in the corner. He walked over to his wife
with his hand out. "Give me the gun."
"No." Virginia violently shook her head. "Don't come any closer Frank."
"You won't shoot me." He smirked. He confidently reached out and grabbed
the gun from her hands. He tossed it on the bed. Virginia started to cry at
how easily it was. Frank slapped her again. "Now I told you this has
nothing to do with you. Go back to bed. Now!" He roared.
She was never sure how she got the courage to get up and get the gun but
she did. She held it in her hands and she felt the power. The power to stop
it, the power to end it.
Virginia glanced behind Frank and saw Caroline holding the gun. "Caroline,
no!"
Frank turned his head and started to speak, "Baby Caroline—"
The details were always fuzzy after that:
Bang! Bang! The gun went off. Frank went down. All Caroline saw was the
blood. The blood was everywhere. Everywhere she looked was blood. She could
hear Virginia screaming over and over in the background, "What have you
done, Caroline? What have you done!"
Carly sat straight up in bed with tears streaming down her face. She choked
back a loud sob so she wouldn't wake up Alex. She drew her legs up to her
chest and pressed her face against her knees. "Oh God, why now?"
She tried to wipe away the tears but she couldn't stop them from coming.
Her stomach turned and she slapped her hand over her mouth and rushed out
of bed and headed for the bathroom. She made it to the toilet in time to
lose the contents for her stomach. It happened every time she had The
Dream. She was used to it by now.
Alex was woken by Carly climbing out of bed. He followed her into the
bathroom wondering what was wrong. He saw her draped over the toilet,
holding her head in one hand and her stomach in the other.
"Carly?"
"Go away." She muttered. She flushed the toilet and slowly stood. She moved
over to the sink and quickly brushed her teeth. She gargled and splashed
cold water on her face. She looked at Alex through the mirror. He was
watching her with a worried expression. "Why are you still here, Alex?
Please just go."
"Carly, what's wrong?" Alex frowned and reached out for her but she
instantly backed away.
"No!" She shouted. "Don't touch me! Don't touch me! Do *not* touch me! Just
leave me alone, please just leave me alone." Tears sprung out, fast and
furious. She crumpled onto the floor in a heap and cried harder.
Alex's heart was breaking. He didn't know what was hurting her and it was
killing him because he couldn't help her. He knelt on the floor in front of
her and tried to take her into his arms.
She shook her head and curled into a ball. "Don't touch me." She said in a
little girl voice.
Alex gasped. What the hell was going on? He couldn't touch her; she
wouldn't talk to him…The only thing he could do was watch as she cried
herself to sleep. When he was sure she was sleeping he tenderly picked her
up and carried her back to bed. He would get to the bottom of things in the
morning.